The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-12-21
cHINA'S SORROW.

The Yellow River Overfows, Causing
Unparalleled Destruction of Life.
SAN Francisco, December 15.-The steam
ship City of Sydney arrived this afternoon
from Hong Kong and Yokohama. Chinese
papers give details of a disaster occasioned
by the Yellow river overlooking lts banks
in the province of Honu, and describe it as
one of the most appalling occurrences in
loss of life and property recorded in recent
times. The river broke its banks on the
evening of September %, southwest Of the
city Of Ching Chow, and not only COM
pleteiy inundated that city, but also Ten
other populcus cities, The whole area is
now raging sea, ten to thirty feet deep,
where it was once densely populated and
rich plain. The former bed of the Yellow
River is now dry, and the present lake was
the bed of the river centuries ago.
The loss OF life is incalculable, and
the statement is made by missionaries
that millions of Chinese are homeless and
starving. Thomas Patton, one of the Amer.
lean missionaries, writing from Honu
Province under date Of October %, says:
"Tbe newly gathered crops, houses aud
trees are all swept away, involving fear
full loss of life. The country was covered
with fine winter braid, which is gone and
implies complete destruction to nextyear's
crop. Bread, bread is the cry of thou
sands, W no are on the river bank, Bsnevo-
lent people 90 in boats and throw bread
among the masses here and there, but it is
nothing com pared with the requirements
The mass of people is still being increased
by continual arrivals, even more hungry
than the last. There they sit. stunned,
hungry and detected, without rag to wear
or a morsel of food. Mat huts are being
erected for them. Whit it will be in two
he NJ no mis- lei in.
creased owing to the bitter cold weather"
Yellow River has long been known rs
China's sorrow, and the present disaster
has served to reassert its right to the terri.
BILE title. AS yet, details o. the disaster
are very mesger. II has occurred in
district where but few foreigners are, and
the report furnished by the officials and
published in the Pekin Gazette convey
very inadequate account of the extent o,
the loss Of life and property and the suf-
ferings of the survivors. The Governor in
Honau reports TO the throne that: Near
ly all the people have been drowned in
the district reached by the water the sur
vlvors being those who escaped to the
high ground or took refuge in trees, where
they remained until they were rescued"
This gives but little impression as to
what the extern OF the disaster really is
The Chinese Times says IL the province OF
Wu6IS ulEdeiIOU6
have also occurred, there are 270 600 people
homeless, representing an equal number
whose lives were destroyed, and adds that
the misery in that province is trihing as
compared with that caused by HuaDgo-H0,
or the Yellow river. The extent of ground
swept over By the flood, given in English
figures is over 1000 square miles and land
thus submerged formed a part of one Of
the richest and most densely populated
plains OF Northern China.
The necessity fer liberal aid may there
fore be imagined. Already considerable
sums have been contributed towards re-
lieviDg sufferers. The Emperor of China
he's given two millions Of teels, and the
Chinese have started s1bscri pticn lists in
Shanghai, TO which foreigners have iber-
ally contributed. Millions have been ren.
dered homeless and entirely deprived of all
chance of earning livelihood, for their
fields will either become permanent lakes
or uninbabitable sTamps It is feared that
the distress which will be felt during the
coming winter will equal in intensity the
famine of ten years ago, when charitable
donations, contributed to from all parts of
the world, were utterly inadequate. It is
stated that owing 10 the action taken By
the Yellow river, it no longer flows toward
the sea, bat seems content in converting
Eastern Honau into lake.